Communicating Decent Work to Suppliers
Key Learnings
To ensure meaningful communications on decent work with my suppliers, it is important to:
- Consider the best timing and conditions to discuss my expectations on decent work
- Be clear about my objectives and what I am trying to achieve
- Ensure all relevant colleagues of different departments in my company are involved, including at the executive level
- Demonstrate respect and listen to the supplier’s experiences and issues. Make sure they understand that this is a shared responsibility. I want my supplier to feel comfortable to report decisions or practices that can hinder their capacity to respect labour rights and decent work.
- Understand and discuss the opportunities and long-term business benefits for decent work, both internally and with suppliers
Next Steps
- Know who my suppliers are and how their supply chains function, will help me understand how I should communicate on decent work
- Determine the most relevant communications channels with my suppliers (e.g. calls, conferences, contractual meetings, visits, online tender processes, trainings, etc.)
- Assess my current buying practices and their potential negative impacts on workers
- Share this toolkit with my suppliers and encourage them to use it with their own suppliers